The 203^rd Tank and Armoured Brigade under the 2^nd Corps (previously the 203^rd Tank Regiment of the Tank and Amoured Corps) – the second tank unit of the Vietnam People’s Army, was founded on the 22^nd June 1965 in Luu Quang Commune, Binh Xuyen District, Vinh Phuc Province. In response to the task requirement, in 1973, the Regiment joined the order of battle of the Tri Thien Military Region and since 1974 to date it has been developed into a tank and amoured brigade under the 2^nd Corps.

Being born in the fiercest period of the resistance war against the U.S, the Brigade has surmounted countless of hardships and sacrifice, participated in major and decisive battles of Route 9 – Khe Sanh (1968), Route 9 – Southern Laos (1971) and the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign (1975), contributing to the liberation of the South and the unification of the country. Entering the period of national construction and defence, the Brigade continued to engage in the war to protect the Southwestern border, fulfilled its international mission to rescue Cambodian people from massacre and speedily marched back to protect the Northern border. With its glorious tradition in fighting, constructing and protecting the Fatherland, the Brigade and its 6 collectives and 3 individuals have been awarded the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” and many other noble prizes.

In recent years, the Brigade has been tasked with the mission of training, remaining combat readiness and other ad hoc duties assigned by the Corps. Besides its advantages, the Brigade faces a number of difficulties due to its shortage of troops, its dispersed units, its large number of materiel, etc. Fully aware of this, its Party Committee and Commandant have focused their leadership and direction on promoting its heroic tradition and unity to overcome hardship and successfully accomplish its training and combat readiness tasks as a ground for improving the overall quality and combat power. Thereby, for many consecutive years, the Brigade has been honoured as a “Good training unit” and awarded with many Certificates of Merits and Emulation Flags by the Ministry of National Defence, the Corps’ High Command and the Tank and Amoured’s High Command.

A training session of the brigade

In order to achieve those results, first, the Brigade focuses on education to enhance the awareness, sense of responsibility for its cadres and soldiers for the tasks of training and combat readiness. The Brigade regularly makes all its cadres and soldiers, firstly its party committees and commanders at all levels, fully aware of the importance and position of training and combat readiness tasks which is the central and permanent task deciding the task performance of its units and offices. The content of education is comprehensive but focused on the Party’s military and defence viewpoints and guidelines; the resolutions, directives and orders of upper levels on training and combat readiness. Emphasis is placed on the Resolution No. 765-NQ/QUTW dated 20^th December 2012 of the Central Military Commission and the Resolution No. 253-NQ/ĐUQĐ, dated 13^th June 2013 of the Corps’ Party Committee on “Improving the training quality in the 2013 – 2020 period and beyond”; the orders on training and combat readiness of the Commander of the Corps and the Tank and Amoured Corps, as well as the features, mission, advantages and disadvantages, goals, requirements, achievements gained during the implementation of training and combat readiness of the unit. At the same time, it effectively carried out the Determine to Win Emulation movement in each period associated with the implementation of the Directive No. 05-CT/TW, dated 15^th May 2016 of the Politburo, the Directive No. 87-CT/QUTW, dated 8^th July 2016 of the Central Military Commission on strengthening the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh thought, ethics and style and the Drive of “Promoting tradition, dedicating talents, deserving Uncle Ho’s soldiers”. Thereby, 100% of its cadres and soldiers are enthusiastic with their job, actively overcome difficulties to accomplish the tasks of training and combat readiness.

Together with education, the Brigade also pays attention to making preparation for training. Annually, prior to training season, the Brigade directs its offices and units to renew, upgrade materiel, training fields, renovate learning tools and training equipment; actively make plans, compose contents and programs for training and build instructions and lesson plans, etc. in a sufficient and efficient manner. At the same time, it thoroughly conducts training and cultivation to raise the levels and method of training for its cadres. Up to date, 100% of its cadres are capable of conducting training at their levels in which 100% of battalion-level cadres and 75% company-level cadres are rated good and excellent.

In addition, the Brigade focuses on renewing its structure, method and mechanism in the direction, management, and operation of training. Basing on the approved training plans, its offices and units stick to the motto of “fundamental, essential, steady” with emphasis on synchronous, in-depth training for each type of tanks to make it relevant to the combat reality, areas of operation and objects of combat; strengthen practice, night training, coordinated training with the infantry and other corps in the context of high-tech warfare of the enemy and training in cruel climate conditions. To make training stable and steady, the Brigade applies robust and comprehensive renewals in its mechanism of direction, management, operation towards “focal, unified, synchronous, effective” direction while promoting the role and responsibility of the advisory bodies and the managerial cadres in advising, instructing and directing it units during their training process; foster the application of information technology in training. Thereby, training quality of the Brigade has been increasingly enhanced. 100% of the soldiers attain the required testing results in training, including 86% being rated good and excellent. It has successfully conducted exercise with absolute safety in personnel and materiel which was highly appreciated by the 2^nd Corps’ and the Tank and Amoured Corps.

To enhance the level and capability of combat readiness, meeting the requirements of mission in the new situation, the Brigade regularly consolidates its organisational structure in accordance with the regulations of the MOD and the Corps with priorities being given to the units conducting combat readiness; seriously adhere to duty regimes, especially on holiday and Tet occasions and important events of the country pursuant to the Decree No. 14/CL-BQP, dated 28^th March 2017 of the Minister of National Defence, the Decree No. 668/CL-BTL, dated 19^th May 2017 of the Corps’ Commander on combat readiness. At the same time, it coordinates closely with the local party committees and authorities to grasp the socio-political situations in the areas of operations as ground for making, supplementing, perfecting and practicing the plans for combat readiness, disaster prevention and control, so that it will be ready to deal opportunely and effectively with emerging incidents.

Besides, the Brigade also fulfills the tasks of technical and logistic supply for training and combat readiness. For such a tank and amoured unit with large amount of materiel, technical assurance takes an important role in the Brigade’s enhancement of training and combat readiness. To that end, the Brigade promotes the implementation of the 50^th Drive, and the serious management of the quantity and quality of its materiel; exploits and deploys its technical spare parts in an effective and thrifty manner; seriously adheres to regulations on maintenance and enhancement of the technical ratios for materiel deployed for combat readiness and training tasks with 1.0 and 0.95 ratios and above, respectively. As for logistic supply, the Brigade focuses on the sufficient, timely and all-round supply for training and combat readiness with emphasis on the reserved logistic material for combat readiness. Besides it proactively conducts production to improve the meal and health of its troops so that the ratio of healthy troop always meets and exceeds the requirements of training and combat readiness.

Promoting its achievements and experience and looking forwards the 55^th Anniversary of its foundation Day (22^nd June 1965 – 22^nd June 2020), cadres, soldiers of the 203^rd Tank and Amoured Brigade will continue to hold and promote its tradition of “Speediness, boldness, win once deployed”, focus on enhancing the quality of training and combat readiness to build the Brigade an all-strong, exemplary and outstanding unit, successfully accomplishing all assigned tasks, deserving the title of Hero of People’s Armed Forces

Senior Colonel PHAM MANH PHI, Brigade’s Commander